If you are staying in French Harbor (FH), the nearest dive op is at Barefoot Key (BFK).
If you are imagining that you want a 6-Pack boat all to yourself, this by any definition is called a "charter". I would urge you to contact your final choice of dive op well in advance and determine if they can fulfill your desires based on scheduling.
Since you have stayed at Fantasy Island (FI) previously, you have already been diving at Mary's Place. As a matter of fact, you'll have likely dived in most of the dive sites that BFK reaches.
If the people along with you are new to Roatan? That's a slightly different question and answer, then.
Lita's Hole is one that Fantasy never goes to... it is a very snug swim through. The best of the South side, the well known spots? BFK will take you there, but they include John's, French Cay Cut, The Mr Bud, Gold Chain, Valley of the Kings, 40 Ft Point, Newmans and CCV Wall, The PA Wreck, Doc's Dive, Chimneys, Carib Pt, and the one that FI might not often take you to, by far my favorite is Calvin's Crack.
Be warned, see previous threads, that driving on Roatan is decidedly a risky proposition. Many prior vacationing divers will chime-in with their stories of how everything went well. It takes a local's perspective to know and see the reality. The roads suck, there is no trauma center of any kind, it rains often, the wipers on tropical vehicles are likely sun-rotted, there are no reflectors or striping on the roads. If you get in an accident, you're in deep puppy poop. If you hit a dog or chicken, per pound, you'll have no idea they were worth that much money. You may wind up being held pending trial. I would hire a driver with a van.
There is a modern grocery store in FH. There are a only couple of restaurants that you might recognize as being such. There are numerous, all but invisible shacks that locals chow down within. At the fancy known and obvious places, I would not fret over sanitation. At the "locals joints", you'll likely know if your adventure into local culture was successful within 2 to 6 hours after finishing the desert course.
Overall, this is the first time I have heard this question, people don't generally post here that are taking condos in FH.
Most folks doing what you are, they stay along the West End/West Bay where they will find multitudes of choices for everything on your list... plus no need for a vehicle except the occasional cab.
"We are a party of six divers, intermediate to very skilled."
Depends upon how you define skilled. Very little diving anywhere around Roatan is all that difficult in terms of skill levels. The ability to appreciate the flora and fauna you are presented with varies greatly due to the individual diver's demonstrated level of comfort while in the water. The South side's Mary's Place and the Shark Dive are very popular because anybody that meets the minor requirements for participation will be able to see something new and different. Mary's has the reef's actual shape that dazzles, the Shark Dive presents you with large moving grey objects that rapidly flit across the blue panorama. A blind person can enjoy either dive- that is the basis for popularity.
As you have already dived the South side with FI, you may well understand that "more advanced" divers might enjoy one side of the island over the other... depending on what you mean by "advanced". The North side is deeper and darker, it has some very deep wrecks that are a bit twisted by storm action. The North also wins the prize on reef architecture, or in common parlance, the "shape of the underwater rocks" having more variation. The South side has two very shallow intact wrecks, and the entire area is characterized by shallow, vertical sunlit walls leaving you with little nitrogen loading over 4 and 5 dives a day~ With a lot of smaller critters that are hard for many divers to find...
you're going to enjoy it a lot better if you have a good DM, being sure to follow him, versus going off on your own. I have thousands of logged dives all over Roatan, and I have no delusion that I will see as much without following my DM. Some less experienced divers return from a trip to the South side (after using a bad DM) decrying the lack of fish, whereas most all newer divers prefer the North side because that's where you'll find the more recognized and larger creatures. Simply stated: If you are still agog with Lobsters and Barracudas, you'll be happier on the North. If you've seen your share of the obvious, head to the South side.
I personally like the diving better on the South side, which is
where you will be staying when at French Harbour. It is simply not a zone that is easily accessed unless you are staying at one of the few AI resorts (BFK, CCV, FIBR, RHR). Of the lot, BFK and FIBR might be the easiest to go diving with on a day-dive basis. RHR and CCV would both require a quick boat ride from the parking, but RHR is quite a hike from FH.
If we had this discussion before booking, I certainly would have recommended taking a Beach House at Playa Miguel in CCV, or steered you to West End instead.
